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Copy 1 



xxIE PENNSYLVANIA MUSEUM 

AND 

SCHOOL OF INDUSTEIAL ART 

PHILADELPHIA 



NUMISMATICS 



NOTES 



UPON THE 



Collection of Coins and Medals 

DEPOSITED BY THE NUMISMATIC AND ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY 
OF PHILADELPHIA 

By Henry Phillips, Jr. 

AND UPON THE 

Collection of Chinese Coins 

BELONGING TO THE MUSEUM 

By Stewart Culin 



MEMORIAL HALL 

Fairmount Park 

1885 



Price, 10 Cents 



THE PENNSYLVANIA MUSEUM 

\ 

AND 

SCHOOL OF INDUSTRIAL ART 
PHILADELPHIA 

NUMISMATICS 



NOTES 



UPON THE 



Collection of Coins and Medals 

DEPOSITED BY THE NUMISMATIC AND ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY 
OF PHILADELPHIA 

By Henry Phillips, Jr. 

AND UPON THE 

Collection of Chinese Coins 

BELONGING TO THE MUSEUM 

By Stewart Culin 



MEMORIAL HALL 
Fairmount Park 

1885 



Price, 10 Cents 



o 



** 



o d <y\ 



Gift 
sher 

10 N '09 



NUMISMATICS. 



Notes upon the Collection of Coins and Medals now upon 
Exhibition at the Pennsylvania Museum and School- of In- 
dustrial Art, Memorial Hall, Fairmount Park, Philadel- 
phia. 

By Henry Phillips, Jr. 

" Quern non moveat clarissimis monumentis testata consignataque vetustas ?" 

Spanheim. 

The object of this display is to present Art as typified upon coins 
and medals from the earliest known period until the present time, 
so as to show the student the nature and character of the develop- 
ment of the aesthetic culture as exhibited by the aid of Numismatic 
science. 

The change and advance presented by the inspection of coins and 
medals is a vast chain of ever closely joining links. From the very 
beginning of coinage, from the rudest of all ancient coins, the Per- 
sian daric or the tortoise of ^Egina, to the majestic medallions of 
Syracuse, step by step every inch of the onward march of Art may 
readily be traced. The earliest of all known coins exhibit on the 
reverse only a shapeless punch mark, are the work of unskilled hands, 
are defective in type, in shape, in inscription, while the latest (or most 
modern) present complicated and intricate devices of all kinds and 
natures. 

The present exhibition is composed of the collections of coins and 
medals belonging respectively to the Library Company of Philadel- 
phia, the American Philosophical Society, and the Numismatic and 
Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia, under the care of which latter 
Society the collections have been deposited and arranged by a com- 
mittee. A few private individuals have also contributed to the ex- 
hibition. 

The display may be divided into three great heads, viz. : Coins, 
medals, and tokens (embracing jettons), to the main features of 
which I shall briefly advert, beginning for convenience sake with 
the second general subdivision. 

CASES 23, 24. 

The first series to be noticed is one consisting of thirty-one bronze 
medals of large sizes commemorating victories and notable events 

3 



4 NUMISMA TICS. 

in the history of the Empire of Russia from the time of Peter the 
Great to that of Catharine II. They are all of very high relief, and 
"bear, for the most part, on their obverse the nude bust of that 
Empress, exhibiting her as a young woman, and as time passes on 
showing the alterations it has caused in her appearance. 

There are silver medals given by Kings George I and II to the 
North American Indians, usually worn by the sachems as gorgets 
and interred with them at their decease. 

The Indian medal of George I bears on the reverse an Indian, 
armed with a bow and arrow, taking aim at a stag. 

The one issued under King George II is stated, in Vaux's life of 
Anthony Benezet, to have been cut in America, and is especially 
worthy of notice on that account, as having been the first medal 
ever made in this country. It is cut in very bold style, although 
the reverse is decidedly stiff of execution. The obverse bears the 
"bust of King George II with his titles; the reverse a Quaker seated 
on the ground, who is receiving from (or handing to) an Indian the 
calumet of peace; around is the inscription, "Let us look to the 
Most High who blessed our fathers with peace." 

Another silver gorget bears on the obverse an antique view of the 
city of Montreal; on the reverse is engraved the word " Mohi- 
grans," and in script the name Tangran> being probably the ap- 
pellation of the chieftain to which it had been presented. 

A series of well-executed medals represents scenes in the lives of 
Louis XV, Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, Lord Howe, Lord Corn- 
wallis, Suwarrow, and others. There are fine medals of Rousseau, 
Lafayette, Liebnitz, Gauss, Thiersch, R. M. Patterson. David Rit- 
tenhouse, Berzelius, Charles XII of Sweden, Louis XVIII, Napo- 
leon (commemorating the introduction of vaccination), Napoleon 
and Josephine (accolated), Maiquis of Granby, Earl Kildare, one 
commemorating the millennial anniversary of the Kingdoms of 
Sweden and Norway, one of King Augustus of Poland, and other 
celebrated persons and events. 

A series represents the " Medallic History of the American Rev- 
olution," on which appear Franklin and Washington with various 
symbolical reverses. There are medals of Pitt, of Penn, and quite 
a number of Washington, embracing the "Manly," the "Sansom," 
the " Eccleston," the " C. C. A. U. S.," " He is in glory," etc., 
etc., etc. ; medals commemorative of the peace of 1 814 and that of 
1783; one given to Defleury upon the capture of Stony Point; a fine 
gilt medallion of the Earl of Essex, cut by the celebrated Simon in 
the days of the Commonwealth. 

There is an interesting series of medalets in copper ranging in 
date from 1584 to 1620, representing various occurrences in the 
wars between King Philip II of Spain and the United Provinces, 
among which the following are of the most interest : 

No. 34141 bears on its obverse upon a sea violently in commotion, 
lashed by storms, a ship whose topmasts have been broken off, above 
which is the date 1565. Inscription, Incertum . quo . fata . ferent. 



NUMISMA TICS. 5 

On the reverse a female figure, holding her right hand toward heaven, 
and in her left an anchor; from above rays are streaming down upon 
her head. Inscription, Spes . alma . supersit. 

This jetton was struck in reference to the dissensions and lack of 
unity then prevalent in the Netherlands and the unfavorable outlook 
of the times. 

Xo. 34179 has on the obverse the inscription, Lapis . reiectus — 
caput . anguli. Within a circle of very fine lines a three-cornered 
stone, showing its broadest part downward : below is a crowned lion 
with a shield near the inscription on the border. Reverse, dns. 
fecit, hoc. et. fu (it) mi. (rabile) in oc. (ulis) h. (ominum.) 1574. 
The sacred name of Jehovah in Hebrew letters within a circle, be- 
neath which are clouds, whence beams and rays are spreading down- 
ward. 

No. 34214. Obverse. Afflictos . docet . viam . suam. 1577, and 
a five-leaved rose. In the lower foreground is the figure of a man 
resting upon the earth (the prophet Elijah), receiving in his right 
hand a piece of bread which a hand is reaching to him from out of 
the clouds. In the background of the landscape appears a city. 
In the clouds the name of Jehovah in Hebrew letters. Reverse, 
Librat . a . condemnantibus . animam . ejus. Daniel in the lion's 
den by the side of two lions. Above the name of Jehovah in a cloud 
(as on the obverse), and a hand stretched out. This piece refers to 
the gloomy state of affairs, and is intended to recall to the mind of 
the distressed or doubting Hollanders the two signal examples of 
the Divine beneficence that are commemorated upon this coin. 

No. 34379. Obverse, Zelus . domini . exercituum . fecit . hoc. 
Upon the upper portion of the field the name of Jehovah in Hebrew 
letters surrounded by a cloud, from which a naked arm holding a 
sceptre is projecting ; below is a landscape in which several cities 
and towns are visible. Reverse, Stenovico. | Otmarsia. | covor- 

DIA. I CAPTIS. J HOSTE. | REPULSO. | SEX. | FCED. PRO. | F. | F. | 

M'D^xcii. This piece refers to the capture of the cities named. 

No. 34404. Obverse, Castracon | spexit inse | adversaria 
Selvolda cum I Bislechio ad | nov mdxcv. Reverse, a battle- 
mented tower, at whose base a battering-ram, worked by eight war- 
riors, is being operated, and has effected a breach. This and the 
next jetton commemorate the capture of the towns of Selvold and 
Bislich. 

No. 34405. Obverse, Qu^rere. Within a circle of vines Mars 
stands armed with lance and shield ; by his side the trunk of a tree, 
upon which a bird is resting; in the foreground a mass of infantry. 
Reverse, Et. tueri. mdxcv. A female figure seated, facing front. 
with a large helmet upon her head, holding in her right hand a 
shield, upon which is displayed the Lion of Holland ; in the left a 
lance ; at her right side is seated an owl upon a branch. In the 
background is an encampment of tents. This relates to Prince 
Maurice's prudence in preserving his conquests and to his Mars-like 
valor in effecting them. 



Q NUMISMATICS. 

No. 34407. Obverse, Frustra . oppugnat . usquedum . prote- 
git . deus. Soldiers standing by a river bank with a crowned 
leader ; the other side of the river is protected by a shield which a 
hand holds out from heaven. Under the shield are four soldiers 
ready for the fray, and behind them are seen kneeling three persons 
in prayer. Reverse, Vigilate . et . orate . deo . confidentes . 
mdxcvi. A seated female figure with folded hands; upon her right 
a sentry is keeping watch; on her left a shield displaying a crowned 
lion, by the side of which is a tower, upon whose summit there is 
also a sentinel. 

This jetton refers to the province of Zeeland being threatened by 
the Archduke Albert. 

No. 34423. Obverse, Ordin. | Auspic. prin. | Mauri, ductu. | 

HOSTE AD TUR I NOUTUM C^ESO. | DECEM OPIDIS. ET. | TRIBUS. ARCI- 
BUS. I EXPUG. ET. TOTA. | CISRHE. DITIO | NE. PACATA. | 1597. Re- 
verse, Soli. deo. honor et gloria. The Belgian lion rampant, 
holding a sword and bundle of arrows. This celebrates the victory 
at Turnhout and the recapture of nine towns. 

No. 34457. Obverse, imperator. Maris, terr^e Dominus. A 
full-rigged ship under sail. Reverse, Luctor et emergo. 1602. 
A four-leaved rose between small crosses. This relates to commerce 
and navigation once more beginning to be lively. 

No. 34461. Obverse, Ars. grave, tollit. onus. A man bend- 
ing down over a lever is endeavoring by its means to raise .a huge 
millstone. Reverse, Industria et labore. A spade transpiercing 
a crown. In the exergue MDCII. 

This relates to the surrender of Grabe. 

No. 34491. Obverse, Servat. vigilantia. concors. mdcvi. A 
ship in a storm-tossed ocean, whose waves are breaking its masts ; 
clouds are in the heavens. Seven figures are to be seen upon the 
ship who are busied in taking necessary measures for the preserva- 
tion of the ship and bringing it to its destination. Reverse, Mod- 
icm. I Fidel quid. | timetis. | s. c. 

This refers to the general depression and consternation of the 
Netherlanders. 

No. 34518. Obverse, fortitudo . belgica. A-bundle of arrows 
with their points upward. Reverse, mdcxii. | induciar. | iiii. | 
s. c. I This commemorates the fourth year of the truce. 

A quaint silver medalet of the sixteenth century has on the ob- 
verse, David playing upon the harp before Saul, and on the reverse, 
David slaying Goliath. A medal of Sir Humphrey Davy and one 
of Matthew Boulton are especially noticeable for the boldness and 
finish of their execution, as well as one cut by Key (the medalist of 
the United States Mint), bearing on the obverse a magnificent female 
head with the inscription, "Light, Liberty, Law." 

There is also a medal issued to commemorate the twenty-first an- 
niversary of the foundation of the Numismatic and Antiquarian So- 
ciety of Philadelphia (January 1st, 1879) an( ^ tne twelfth presidential 
term of the Hon. Eli K. Price. Its process of manufacture is like- 



NUMISMA TICS. 7 

wise shown. First, there is the large plaster cast taken from the 
wax medallion originally modeled from life; this latter, being per- 
ishable, has not been preserved, but the plaster representation ex- 
hibits a perfect facsimile of the original. Secondly, is the same 
portrait in plaster reduced by mechanical means to the size it is to 
occupy in the die. Third, is the hub upon which the portrait is 
cut in alto relievo by a machine which reproduces in any desired 
size the figure which it is to bear, and which is afterward tempered 
to hard steel. Fourth, the die which is struck from the hub, and 
shows in intaglio the portrait intended to be impressed upon the 
medal. It is at first soft, so as to easily receive the impression, and 
it is then afterward hardened so as to bear the necessary amount of 
pressure and blows. There are also leaden trial impressions of the 
dies. These show the whole process of making the dies. 

The medal bears upon its obverse the portrait of the venerable 
gentleman in whose honor it was struck, surrounded by the inscrip- 
tion, Eli K. Price, President, 1879. On the reverse the seal of 
the Society and the inscription, The Numismatic and Antiqua- 
rian Society of Philadelphia, founded January 1, 1858. The 
meaning of the devices on the seal is as follows : The owl, which 
is the crest, symbolizes wisdom and learning \ it is taken from the 
device upon the coins of Athens, issued in the fifth century before 
the present era, and is a faithful copy of that archaic work of art. 
The shield, upon which the quarterings are displayed, is the Saxon 
shield, emblematic of English ancestry and associations ; the em- 
blems on each of the four portions of the shield represent, respect- 
ively, Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. Europe presents the cross 
as found upon the coinage of the first Christian Kings of England ; 
Africa, the Egyptian sphynx ; Asia, a Chinese coin, and America, 
the stone arrow-heads, axes, and implements of the Aborigines. 
The motto (vestigia rerum sequi) refers to the nature of the Society's 
occupations. 

There is also a medal (in bronze) of the late Joseph J. Mickley, 
the first President of the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of 
Philadelphia. This medal was cut by Mrs. Lea Ahlborn, of Stock- 
holm, medalist and designer of the Royal Swedish Mint, who like- 
wise cut the medal commemorating the four hundredth foundation 
of the University of Upsal. The execution of the flesh is remark- 
ably well done, and the whole medal is a credit to the skill of the 
female artist. 

There are also medals of Lavater, Cervantes, Shakespeare, of 
the Series JVu??iismatica, and of Alexander I of Russia, and Louis 
XVI of France, deposited by H. Dumont Wagner, Esq., of this 
city. 

There is a very large silver medal (size forty-two of the scale of the 
Numismatic and Antiquarian Society qf Philadelphia) bearing on the 
obverse a view of the city of Amsterdam ; in the foreground the 
river Amstel filled with vessels containing armed men. Above the 
city and below a shield charged with its coat-of-arms a hand ap- 



g NUMISMA TICS. 

pears holding a heart projecting from a cloud and surrounded by 
luminous rays. The inscription consists of these Hollandish verses : 

Ons hert en handt 
is voor het landt. 

On the reverse a garland of olives incloses the words, Godt Heeft 
ons Bewaert. Around the wreath is the inscription, Zyn Hoog- 

HEYT WlLLEM PRINS Van ORANGE HEEFT DE STADT AMSTERDAM 

beleegert den 30 July ende Wederom Afgetrocken den 4 

AUGUSTY, 1650. 

This medal appears to have been chased entirely by hand, and 
not to have been struck from a die. Dissensions arose among the 
States comprising the Dutch Federation during the early summer of 
1650, and the Prince of Orange, after endeavoring to procure a 
peaceable settlement of the existing difficulties, resolved to obtain 
justice by force of arms. To this end he sent a secret order to the 
troops in garrison at Nimeguen, Arnheim, and elsewhere to march 
against Amsterdam, rendezvousing there on the 30th day of June, 
at an early hour of the morning, to force the sturdy burghers into 
submission. The Prince joined the army, after arresting treacher- 
ously six of the prominent men of Horn, Delft, Dort, and Harlem, 
and proceeded in his enterprise, which, however, failed of success, 
the citizens of Amsterdam having received timely warning. They 
had placed themselves in a condition of defense, and were prepared 
to open the sluices and dykes in order, if necessary, to flood the 
country and render it uninhabitable for an army. The Prince, 
seeing that he could not capture the city, had recourse to nego- 
tiations, the result of which was that, after an agreement had with 
the burghers, he withdrew his troops from before the city on the 4th 
of August, 1650. The present medal is one of a series struck to 
commemorate this occurrence. (Van Loon, Vol. II, p. 329 et seq.) 

A beautiful silver medal bearing on the obverse a Janus bust on a 
pedestal, female head facing left, male head facing right. Above 
is the inscription, 

VERGANGENHEIT, GEGENWART, ZUKUNFT, 

AUS ALLEN SCHOEPFE DIR FREUDEN. 

Reverse. Upon a band in centre extending from side to side of 
the medal is the sign of Aquarius between Capricornus and Pisces. 
Above is the sun in full glory, sending down beams which fill the 
whole field and penetrate a cloud which is below the band referred 
to. 

A grand silver medal commemorates the repulse of the Turks be- 
fore the city of Zenta on the Theiss. 

Obverse. A river god standing holding on his left hand a victory 



NUMISMATICS. , ^ 

which is offering him a crown. In his right an urn, from which a 
river is flowing. Under his left arm is a tablet with the inscription, 



AUSPICIIS 
LEOPOLDI MAGNI 
VIRTUTE EUGENII 

Sabavdice D. 

EXERCIT. TURCIC. 
CLADE XX. Host. 

Facta 
Primariis ducib. 

DELETIS 

castris univers. 

Torment, xcviii. 

omnique apparatu 

BELLICO 

INTERCFPTIS. 

CGESUS PROFLIGAT 

D.Jj. Sept 

A- 2 - MDCXCVII 



Reverse. A besieged city, in the background a river and bridge 
and mountains; over the town the word Zenta. In the foreground,, 
cannon, horsemen, infantry, camp, etc. Above is the inscription, 

INTERFECIT EXERCITUM EORUM ET SUBVERTIT ROTAS CURRUUM FER- 
EBANTURQUE IN PROFUNDUM EXOD. 1 4. 

On the edge in raised letters is the Chronogram, En novvs ex 
yofo/ehix LeopoLDe triwMphws., making the date 1697. 

A silver medal shows on obverse a winged female figure standing 
by a monument overhung with floral wreaths and on whose summit 
is a casket of flowers, and around whose base plants and flowers are 
growing. Inscription, Dein Schutz Geist kr^enze Deine Tage. 

Reverse. A branch with flowers horizontally across the field and 
dividing the inscription, mit Freundschaft lieb und freude stets 
— (branch) — wunsch aus reinem herzen gluck. 

There is a noble medal in gold with a clasp, evidently to be worn 
as a decoration, of Frederick III of Denmark and Sofia Amalia, his 
Queen, in commemoration of the courageous defense of Copenha- 
gen against the Swedes under Charles Gustavus in 1658. 

Obverse. A finely executed male laureated bust in high relief. 
Inscription, Dominus providebit. 

Reverse. A laureated female bust with the inscription, Spes Mea 
in deo. 

The peace of Rodschild (February, 1658) had scarcely been con- 
cluded when Charles Gustavus of Sweden formed the design of 
conquering the whole Kingdom of Denmark, and, under the pretext 
that the stipulations of the treaty were not being carried out, in the 



1 NUMISMA TICS. 

month of August he unexpectedly blockaded the roadstead of Co- 
penhagen. All was consternation, and the courtiers begged the 
King, Frederick III, to take to flight for safety into Norway. But 
his noble spirit revolted, and with Roman bravery he resolved to 
defend his capital to the last gasp, gave his personal superintend- 
ence to all the necessary preparations for its defense, planted the 
Royal Standard on the ramparts, armed the citizens, assigned to his 
officers the command of different portions of the city, and, animated 
by the hopes and promises of succor held out to him by the Nether- 
landish provinces, whose interests were in common with those of 
his kingdom, he resolved to perish beneath the ruins of Copen- 
hagen, with his whole family and court, rather than fly or fall into 
the hands of his enemies. Nor were his hopes unfounded. When 
the States of Holland knew the design of the King of Sweden to be 
the conquest of Denmark so as to fall upon the Elector of Branden- 
burg and be avenged upon him for his having deserted the Swedish 
cause, and saw that his efforts were to obtain the complete control 
of the Baltic Sea to the exclusion of their commerce, they resolved 
to send a fleet and an army to the relief of the threatened nation, 
although by some it was argued that to do so might imperil their 
relations with France and England, which were supposed to be fa- 
vorable to the Swedish pretensions. On the 17th of October Ad- 
miral Obdam set sail to succor the King of Denmark, who was 
continuing to defend his capital with valor and fortitude, although 
the enemy had became masters of the Castles of Cronenbourg and 
Helsinbourg and held the mouth of the Sound blockaded by their ves- 
sels, so that the Hollandish fleet, in order to bring relief to the be- 
sieged, would be obliged to run the gauntlet of the fires of these two 
fortresses and at the same time manoeuvre their ships in a narrow 
passage to avoid the dangers of an intricate navigation. On the 
3th of November the Admiral divided his fleet into three squadrons 
and proceeded to engage the enemy's vessels, manned chiefly by 
Scotch and Irish sailors, and commanded by the illustrious Wran- 
gel, as Captain General of the Kingdom of Sweden. About nine 
o'clock in the forenoon the conflict began and raged for six hours 
with great fury in the presence of the King of Sweden himself, who, 
in company with his wife and sister and other personages of high 
rank, watched from the Castle of Cronenbourg the fortunes of the 
fight. The Swedes fought bravely as ever, but the extraordinary 
valor of the Hollanders was ultimately crowned with success. Of 
the enemy's vessels they captured three and burned and sunk eight 
others, forcing the rest to take to flight, thus permitting a juncture 
to be made with the Danish flotilla under Admiral Bielke. The 
Sound was opened by valor and force of arms and the Swedes chased 
out of that sea by a most glorious victory, whose memory was pre- 
served in this and some other medals. 

A silver medal presents on the obverse Neptune boldly engraved 
standing in a chariot drawn by two horses upon a stormy ocean 
whose waves' are lashed into fury by ^Eolus in the right corner. In 



NUMISMA TICS. \ \ 

Neptune's left hand is his trident upright; his right is extended 
open, pointing right. Upon the seat of the car is a crown. Inscrip- 
tion, MOTOS. PR/ESTAT. COMPONERE. FLUCTUS. 

Reverse. Upon a calm and stilly sea is floating a nest in which 
are two halcyons. On the right the setting sun is illumining by 
his rays the whole field of the medal. Above on a band is the in- 
scription, Halcionibus. reductis. Senatus. Amstelod. civibus. 

SUIS. HOC ANTIQUE. VIRTUTIS SPECTAT/EQ. F1DEI PREMIUM. LARGITUR. 

In the exergue, mdcxcvi. (Vide Van Loon, Vol. IV, p. 221.) 
It would be hardly credible what a tumult could always be started 
in the Netherlands from the most trivial causes were not history so 
very explicit The present medal was struck to commemorate a 
sedition which grew out of an ordinance regulating the number and 
the salaries of the criers at the public funerals. Those who were 
excluded from this employment felt at one blow their whole sub- 
sistence taken away from them ; were full of discontent and clam- 
ored loudly against the Magistracy, alleging that their offices had 
been wrested from them in order that the underlings and parasites 
of their rulers might be provided for comfortably. To further aug- 
ment the popular feeling it was given out that the bodies of the poor 
were mutilated by branding previous to interment. The people be- 
came inflamed and maltreated the new criers wherever they met 
them, till at last, emboldened by the usual applause and serenity 
of the bystanders, on the night of the 30th of January, the day pre- 
ceding that on which the new regulation was to go into operation, 
they assembled in great numbers on the Dam, a public place in front 
of the Hotel de Ville. The troops were called out, but their pres- 
ence only served to increase the tumult, while the populace, armed 
with stout cudgels, formed themselves regularly into companies, 
rallying under aprons of blue cloth and beating for drums upon 
empty beer-barrels. 

The mob continued to grow and traversed the streets like mad- 
men, followed by a troop of children. Arrived at the Aelmoesse- 
niers Huts, they put to flight the soldiers placed there as a guard to 
the syndics of the criers of funerals, and fired by their exploit in 
thus having overturned constituted authority, they turned to pillage 
the houses of obnoxious officials. The Burgers were called to arms, 
now realizing that the rioters intended to sack the city if possible, 
using their grievances merely as a stalking horse. Night fell upon 
the scene, but in the early morning, before the citizens had assem- 
bled to take arms, the rabble came together again, and, after pil- 
laging with renewed fury, laid siege to the house of Burgomaster De 
Vries. The Magistracy now issued an order declaring that force 
must be resisted by force; the citizens assembled and marched to- 
ward the field of battle, fired upon the riotous assembly, killed two, 
and put the others to flight. Whilst this was taking place, a por- 
tion of the mob engaged in sacking the house of a rich Jew named 
Pinto (and could there ever be popular uprising in Europe without 
a Jew's house being pillaged?) was fallen upon by another detach- 



1 2 NUMISMA TICS. 

ment of citizens, who drove them away at the point of the sword. 
The bridges were all raised, arid the gatherings in other quarters 
dispersed by a summary administration of justice. 

Two of the robbers taken in the field were hung to the neighbor- 
ing lamp-post, and a strong force was posted on the Dam and other 
exposed parts of the city. At the first news of the insurrection 
the regiment of Guards, which was stationed at 'S Gravemoer, had 
taken up its march toward the city to assist, if needed, in quelling 
the disturbance, but' when distant only two leagues from Amster- 
dam, the Council did not judge it expedient to receive the troops, 
but thanking them heartily for their zeal, begged them to hold 
their present position unless it should so happen that the riot could 
not be put down by the fidelity and the valor of the citizens. 
Volunteers under the command of Messrs. Hinlopen, Six, Burg, 
and Huydekooper patrolled the streets to preserve order until the 
4th of February. On the 6th, six of the rioters were executed, 
and the corpses of four others, who had been killed in the tumult, 
were hung by the feet on the same gallows. Several of the sur- 
vivors were shut up in the House of Correction. 

The Magistracy, sensible of the zeal and courage of the train 
bands and of the volunteers, and desiring to exhibit in an honor- 
able way the gratitude of the citizens, caused the present medal to 
be engraved in three different sizes, which, on the 28th of Novem- 
ber of the same year, were distributed publicly to all the troops, 
each man receiving a different size according to his rank. 

A silver medal bears upon the obverse a widow seated between 
two children in a cemetery, pointing to the all-seeing eye in the 
heavens in a triangle surrounded by rays from which an angel is 
descending and emptying upon their heads the contents of a cornu- 
copia. On the left is an obelisk (upon which is engraved the letter 
C), surrounded by English yew-trees. Above, on a ribband, is the 
inscription, Hy is der weezen vader. In the exergue, Ter ge- 
dachtenis aan de weezen uit gedeeld. 

The reverse exhibits three sides of a building inclosing a court- 
yard ; above is the inscription, Luth. Diac. Weeshuis. In the 
exergue, gesticht mdclxxviii. Jubile gevierd 24 Aug. 1778. 

A bronze medal commemorates an Industrial Exposition, held 
at Berlin in 1844. Obverse, Germania seated upon a rock holding 
a wreath in right hand, a sword partially drawn from its scabbard 
reposing on her lap Her left hand rests on the rock, which bears 
the inscription, Seid einig. Exergue, Germania. Inscription, 
Erinnerung an die austellung deutscher gewerbserzeug- 
nisse Zu Berlin, 1844. Reverse, a locomotive crossing a bridge. 
Around this is a wreath on which are five shields with emblems 
respectively representing navigation, manufactures, mining, philoso- 
phy, and agriculture. Inscription, Vorwaerts mit deutschen 

FLEISSE UND DEUTSCHER KRAFT. 

A bronze medal represents on the obverse a King standing by a 
throne, with his right hand extended in the act of swearing, between 



NUMISMA TICS. \ 3 

two female figures. The one on the left holds a tablet on which is 
inscribed grond wet; that on the right, a spear. Inscription, 
Nederland 12 mei 1849; exergue, Je maintiendrai. 

Reverse, a female uncovering a male portrait before a throne, 
and a kneeling female inscribes upon tablet xxv Jaar. Inscription, 
Nederland 12 mei 1874; exergue, Ju bilceum. 

A fine bronze medal exhibits a beautiful laureated head of Napo- 
leon within a wreath tied with ribbands on which are inscribed, 
Wagram, Tivoli, Pyramids, Marengo, Luneville, Amiens, Codes, 
Legion d 1 honneur, Austerlitz, Jena, Tilsit, Simplon. 

Reverse, a view of the Island of St. Helena, with ships in the 
foreground, setting sun to right, eagle on branch in air. In- 
scription, II mourut sur un rocher. Exergue, He Ste Helene. 
3 Mai 18 21. 

A gilt medal bears on obverse, a male bust in costume of the 
fourteenth century and inscription, Joan Galeatus vice com. a 

FUNDAMENTIS INCHOAVIT AN. MCCCLXXXVI. 

Reverse, the Cathedral at Milan, with the inscription, Latus. 

ECCL. METROP. MEDIOLANI. 

A bronze medal bears on the obverse a Cathedral with date in 
exergue, 1342-15 16. Inscription, Der Vater frommer Sinn rief 
dich ins leben. Reverse, the rear of the same building in a ruined, 
incomplete condition ; in exergue, zerstort am 7 Mai 1842. In- 
scription, VEREINTE KRAFT WIRD WURDIG DICH ERHEBEN. 

A white metal medal, on obverse an unfinished Cathedral with 
date in exergue, 1242. Inscription, as follows: 

Das alte Coln hat einst gegrundet 
Dies Wundervolle Gotteshaus; 

Reverse, the same finished with inscription, 

Doch Deutschland hat sich jetzt verbundet 
Und baut mit Gottes Hulf' es aus. 

Exergue, the date 1842. 

A bronze medal commemorating the Massacre of St. Bartholo- 
mew bears on the obverse the head of Pope Gregory XIII ; on the 
reverse an angel armed with sword and cross destroying and put- 
ting to flight a multitude, with the inscription Hugenotorum 
Strages. 

It may be observed in regard to this medal that doubts have been 
cast as to whether it was actually issued by the Papal authorities, 
but rather that it was done by those inimical to the Church of 
Rome, in order to cast discredit upon it by appearing to exult over 
such a scene of carnage. The present medal, however, is of most 
undoubted genuineness, having been purchased in Rome with the 
whole series of the Pontifical Medals direct from the Superintend- 
ent of the Papal Mint. The author of La Science des Medailles 
(Paris, 1 715), says, il ne faut pas confondre avec les veri tables me- 
dailles des Popes, certaines que les ennemis du Saint Siege ont fabri- 



1 4 NUMISMA TICS. 

quees pour les ins u Iter, ou pour les rendre odieux. Telle est celle du 
Jules III avec cette inscription qui lui sert de revers, Gens et Reg- 
num quod non servierit tibi peribit. Telle est la Medaille de Paul 
III, $EPNH ZHN02 ETPAINEI, que V on ne doit jan ais placer par mi 
les medailles veritable s. (No. 5 2 in the Hockley collection. See post. ) 

Pinkerton, however, is of the opinion that this latter described 
medal is genuine and was cut by Michael Angelo. It is certainly 
a handsome piece of workmanship, and would do no discredit even 
to that great artist if the attribution be correct. 

All the medals before Paul II, according to the same author, 
were issued during the Pontificate of Alexander VII. It is stated 
that the Abbe Bizot had the design of issuing a full line of all the 
Popes, which he was prevented from accomplishing by the death 
of the reigning Pontiff under whose auspices the undertaking had 
Been begun. 

Pinkerton states that the medal of Julius II, ''contra stimulum 
ne calcitras," is the first medal which was struck instead of being 
cast. He attributes to Cellini the medal of Clement VII, " ut bibat 
populus /" that of Gregory XIII, upon the reformation of the Calen- 
dar (130) to Parmegiano and to Bassiano and Cavino (the cele- 
brated Paduan forgers) the dies of the medals of Julius III. 

CASES 17-21. 

An especial attention should be given to a remirkably complete 
series of Papal medals, seven hundred and sixty-four in number, 
starting from Pope Martin V (141 5), and ending with Pius IX. 
These medals were deposited by Thomas Hockley, Esq., of Phila- 
delphia. They are of fine execution and of great historic interest. 
Among them maybe found two engraved by Benevenuto Cellini, 
one of Clement VIII (15 23-1 534), No. 47, representing Joseph 
making himself known to his brethren (being in allusion to the 
Pope's fraternal feelings toward the Florentines, his compatriots, 
despite their slight gratitude toward him) ; another, No. 52, of Paul 
III (1^34-1549), exhibiting a bust of that Pope with Ganymede, 
and an eagle on the reverse. 

This magnificent series is replete with interest, historical, archi- 
tectural, artistic, and numismatic. Many of the public works and 
buildings of Rome are figured both in their former and present 
conditions ; churches, basilicas, facades, palaces, aqueducts, armo- 
rial bearings, sepulchres, canonizations, victories, are all repre- 
sented in this (very rarely) complete collection. The workmanship 
is of the highest order of merit, and the medals are in the finest 
possible condition. 

According to Henin, there are six grand chronological epochs of 
coinage, all of which may with great certainty be known from the 
indications afforded us by the metals, the legends, the form of 
letters, methods of fabrication, and style of art. 



NUMISMA TICS. \ 5 

First. From the first invention of coinage to the time of Alex- 
ander I, King of Macedonia, i.e., from about the seventh cen- 
tury B. C. to the year 454 B. C. This was the rudest epoch of 
the art ; the metal was mainly silver, some little gold, and no 
copper. The form of the coins was globular and irregular, bear- 
ing on the reverse the rude punch mark (creux earre), and some- 
times the incused figure of the obverse. The legends were of the 
simplest character, being only the names of cities or magistrates, 
sometimes from left to right, sometimes in the contrary direction, 
and sometimes returning in the manner known as Boustrefihodon. 

The artists who produced these coins did so without models or 
the accessories of a later age, and arrived, nature led, at a style 
both sublime and true. A remarkable difference exists between 
ancient and modern coins, the former being of extremely bold exe- 
cution and high relief, while the latter are comparatively flat and 
low, the haut relief preserving the types of the coins longer after 
entering into circulation. 

Second. From the death of Alexander I to the time of Philip 
II, the father of Alexander the Great, B. C. 359. 

It was during this period that the arts obtained a very high per- 
fection in Greece, and it has been believed that the fine engraving 
upon coins was executed by the hands of artists skilled in the work- 
ing of precious stones. Copper coinage, but in small quantities, 
now began to be used as currency, being first struck (in Macedonia) 
by Amyntas II (307 B. C.), and is referred to in a passage in The 
Frogs of Aristophanes as having been but lately introduced into 
Athens. Simplicity was still preserved in art, leading to the 
grandest results. 

Third. From the accession of Philip II to the subversion of the 
Roman Empire by Augustus Caesar (B. C. 30). 

Now the arts had reached their apogee, and coin after coin may 
be cited as masterpieces of the skill of the ancients. The inscrip- 
tions became more complex, embracing titles of magistrates, 
divinities, dates, monograms, and similar indications. Regularity 
and exactness are now more characteristic of the coinage, and the 
art of striking reached a greater degree of precision than ever 
before. The mechanical means employed were still simple, and 
remained so for many centuries ; the remarkable results obtained 
from such slender appliances are the more noteworthy from that 
fact. 

Fourth. From Augustus to Hadrian (A. D. 117). The decadence 
of art and the diminution of the importance and prerogatives of 
the Grecian nations began now more sensibly to make themselves 
perceptible. The moneys struck by independent cities lessened in 
number and excellence, and many nations lost their former right 
of coinage. Copper began to usurp the place of other metals, 
being issued in much larger quantities than formerly, and the art 
of coinage commenced to exhibit symptoms of decay, although 
faint suggestions of former grandeur occasionally occur. 



I Q NUMISMA TICS. 

Fifth. From Hadrian to Gallienus (A. D. 260). Great and 
rapid was the decline of art in this period, full of troubles of al 1 
kinds for the Empire, surrounded by barbarians, and torn by in- 
testine dissensions. 

Sixth. From Gallienus to the fall of the Eastern Empire (1453). 
The arts fell completely into barbarism during this long interval. 
There is but little to attract in the coinage of either the Eastern or 
Western Empires and much to repel. The coins became harsh 
and hard and finally lost all traces of any pretensions to the name 
of art. The imperial Greek, the Colonial, and the Autonomous 
series had long disappeared; the only circulating medium was the 
Roman coinage, now become barbarous in the extreme and small 
in number. 1 

CASE I. 

The exhibition of coins naturally starts with one* of the earliest 
of all known coinage • (about 600 B. C), the Persian Daric, of 
which an example in silver is shown. It bears on the obverse 
a kneeling archer, while the reverse is simply the rude punch 
mark, such as is found only on the most ancient coinages. It 
is to these coins thai allusion is made in the story told of Agesi- 
laus having been overcome by thirty thousand archers, meaning 
that that amount of Persian daric had been expended to procure 
his defeat. 

Two large silver coins of Athens (known as Tetradrachms from 
their size), one about 400 B. C., the other perhaps two hundred 
years later, exhibit the modification of type and change of work- 
manship. On the reverse, the rude archaic owl in bold relief with 
great staring eyes has given place to a less aggressive bird ; the 
simple inscription agh has received in addition the names of the 
moneyers; the diota and olive branch lend additional significance 
to the bird of wisdom. On the obverse, the thoroughly Egyptian 
Jype of face displayed on the helmeted head of Pallas has been 
metamorphosed into the now generally received conventional type 
of Greek art. In antiquity these coins were known as maidens, 
referring to the spinsterhood of the goddess represented upon 
them, and also as " owls," from the figure upon their reverse. In 
one of the Greek dramas a miser is spoken of as having myriads 
of owls roosting beneath his roof, meaning that he had large quan- 
tities of these coins concealed in his house. 

A fine Cistophorus of Apamea presenting the sacred cista of 
Dionysos enveloped by serpents is worthy of particular notice. 
The cistophori are tetradrachms, which bear as their generic type 
a wreath and berries of ivy, surrounding a chest whence issue ser- 
pents, being in reference to those carried in procession by the 
Bacchantes in their orgies, especially in Asia Minor, where the 
snake was revered and considered as an emblem and tutelary god. 
All the cistophori which exist are tetradrachms of silver, uniform 

1 Henin, Numismalique Ancienne, passim. 



NUM1SMA TICS. 



17 



in weight and fineness, and were struck by some one of the follow- 
ing cities, viz. : Apamea in Phrygia, Ephesus in Doria, Laodicea 
in Phrygia, Pergamos in Mysia, Sardes and Tralles in Ionia. They 
were of such exceeding purity and fineness that the Romans would 
receive no other coins in payment of the tribute moneys exacted 
from the cities of Asia Minor. For this purpose they were coined 
in great abundance, and in ancient days were very plentiful, 
although at the present time they have become of quite rare occur- 
rence. M. Acilius, in his triumph from Corinth, bore in procession 
288,000 cistophori, Cn. Manlius Vulso, 250,000; L. Amilius Re- 
gillus, after a victory over the Antioch fleet, 131,000; Scipio 
Asiatica, 331,070. It is probable that these pieces, upon their 
arrival at Rome, by reason of their superior fineness and quality, 
were at once recoined — a fact which would account for their present 
scarcity. 

Cista mystica existed in the sacred rites of Panathenaea, of Diana, 
Eleusinia, Ceres, Theogamia Proserpine, and the Dionysia or orgies 
of Bacchus. 

Upon the tetradrachms of Eleusis, serpents were the symbols 
surrounding or issuing from the cista, either as representing divine 
attributes or the fable of Erichthon. On others, surrounding the 
chest were various emblems, such as combs, the pudenda muliebre, 
food, drink, or fruits, and it was looked upon as a heinous sacrilege 
to divulge the meaning of these recondite objects. 

A type also exists in which Bacchus, in womanly garb, is figured 
seated upon the cista mystica, holding in his right hand a thyrsus, 
below which are two serpents knotted and twined together. Chests, 
whence serpents are out-issuing, are found on the coins of Anchialis 
in Thrace, Sardis Nikaea, Pergamos, Perinthos, and Teos. 

A quinarius of Augustus Caesar exists on which is engraved the 
cista between two serpents, and over which hovers a victory with 
the inscription Asia Recepta. 

A fine tetradrachm of Bceotia exhibits on the obverse the familiar 
Boeotian shield, and on the reverse a cippus. The type of the 
buckler took its origin from the renown acquired by the workmen 
of this nation from their skill in this manufacture. In Homer we 
find mention made that the shield of Ajax was made at Hyle in 
Bceotia. Some authors have imagined it to be a perverted type of 
the Egyptian scarabaeus, while the cippus represents the purifica- 
tions and lustrations used in the worship of Bacchus. This latter 
opinion seems to be further borne out by the fact that the head of 
the Indian Bacchus is also frequently found upon the coins of this 
country. 

A didrachm (7. e., a piece of two drachmas) of Tarentum exhibits 
Taras, the fabled founder of the city (a son of Neptune), riding 
upon a dolphin. The coinage of Tarentum is numerous, presenting 
many different types, is always well executed, and exhibits a high 
degree of culture and art. 

A didrachm of Argos shows on the obverse a running wolf, while 
2 



1 g NUMISMA TICS. 

the reverse has solely the letter " A " within the rude punch mark 
characteristic of the ancient period of its coinage. 

On Messana we find the type to be a running hare, on the reverse 
a figure in a chariot, of which the execution while bold is rather 
rude. Messana is fabled to have been founded about 1600 B. C. 
under the name of Zancle, an appellation which was changed about 
594 B. C. Destroyed by the Carthaginians in 396 B. C., it was 
subsequently rebuilt, and in 282 B. C, after having been captured 
by the Mamertines, it received the name of Mamertina. 
. Rhodus presents the radiated head of Apollo, and on the reverse 
a rose, being a so-called speaking type. Spanheim, however, con- 
siders this flower not to be a rose, but the Punic apple {Balaustus), 
citing Isaac Vossius as his authority. This plant was used for dye- 
ing vestments, and is still known to the modern Arabs. According 
to Theophrastus, its flower resembled that of the rose, and Clement 
of Alexandria states that in the Thesmophoric rites women were 
not allowed to make use of it. 

Upon the coins of Massilia (now Marseilles) we find a walking 
lion of fine workmanship; on Syracuse, the head of Proserpine in 
an incuse surrounded by dolphins, on the reverse a figure in a 
chariot. In the coins and medallions of Syracuse ancient art 
reached its highest pinnacle of perfection ; they are beautiful of 
design, grand and graceful of execution, bold of relief. 

There are coins of Alexander the Great of Macedon, and a fine 
Tetradrachm of his father, King Philip II, bears upon the 
obverse a powerful head of Zeus, on the reverse, a horseman wear- 
ing the hat peculiar to Macedonia, surrounded by the inscription 
$IAinnor. The celebrity of the Macedonian and Thracian horse 
probably led to its adoption as a national type. 

An extremely rare and fine silver coin of Juba II, King 
of Numidia, is noteworthy on account of its historical interest as 
well for its artistic merits. • It bears on the obverse the head of that 
monarch with curly hair and a conical cap; on the reverse a 
temple. 

Tetradrachms of Antiochus, and one of Lysimachus, of magni- 
ficent workmanship and grand design, in the finest possible preser- 
vation, must especially claim the attention of the student as exam- 
ples of Grecian art in its finest stage of development. 

There is a very interesting silver coin of ancient Spain. It bears 
on the obverse ahead with a stern, forbidding countenance, and crisp, 
curled hair and beard, calling to mind the conventional Assyrian 
type. There are also certain rude letters both on the obverse and 
on the reverse. It is the current opinion among Numismatists that 
these coins were copied after those issued by the early Greek mon- 
archs with such changes as the lack of skill on the part of the artists 
would naturally cause. The reverse exhibits a horseman charging 
with a lance, seated upon a steed whose forefeet are raised in motion 
from the ground. The action is spirited, and by no means so stiff 
as the low state of the arts would have warranted us in expecting. 



NUMISMA TICS. \ 9 

The head on the obverse does not, in my opinion, bear out its 
presumed Greek origin, and I incline to the belief that it is rather 
.a representation of. some one of their gods, possibly the Phoenician 
Hercules. 

The first settlements in Spain were those of the Carthagenians, 
established ages before the earliest known periods of classical 
history. 

There exist numerous varieties of those early Spanish coins with 
various inscriptions, which have only been deciphered in the last 
few generations, and even as yet their true signification is in doubt. 
The author of La Science des Medailles (Paris in 1715) speaks of 
these coins as being truly medallas desconnocidas, which no one had 
undertaken to collect or reduce in order, although " Lastanosa ait 
crdi rendre un grand service aux airieux, de se donner la peine d 1 en 
/aire un Volume, qui futimprime a Hues c a en 1643 ou il a fait graver 
environ deux cents de ces medailles qu } il avail dans son Cabinet, la 
jpltipart d 1 argent. ' ' 

Lastanosa had an insight into the true status of these coins which 
had been considered as bearing Punic letters. He maintained that 
the characters on them were those of the early language of Spain, 
and that it was to these coins that Pliny referred when speaking of 
the booty carried away by the Romans from Spain, argentum signa- 
tum oscense. 

The coin of which we have been speaking has been ascribed by 
both Henin and Akerman to the city of Tarragon, the capital of 
the province of the same name, much celebrated in ancient authors 
for its beauty and opulence. Pliny writes of it that it was Scipiorum 
opus ut Carthago Pamorum. Augustus erected in honor of his visit 
an altar, upon which subsequently a palm-tree grew. It issued coins 
while under the dominion of the Romans, and there are some extant 
bearing the heads of the Gothic rulers of Spain. 

Carthage is probably one of the best known cities of antiquity, 
and abundant specimens of its coinage have descended to our own 
times. The pieces in the exhibition are small bronze coins bearing 
on the obverse the head of Demeter (or Persephone) adorned with 
necklace, earrings, etc., and on the reverse the figure of a horse 
and a palm-tree. 

The Carthaginians adopted from Sicily the worship of Demeter 
and Persephone, and the horse possibly refers to Libya, which was 
famous for its horses, or perhaps to the horse's head fabled to have 
been dug up at the foundation of the city. Carthage was ultimately 
destroyed by the Romans 146 B. C„ and the coin was probably 
issued about the third century before the present era. 

There is a very fine didrachm of Velia. in Lucania, a large and 
prosperous city founded by the Greeks, bearing on the obverse a 
beautifully executed head of Apollo, and on the reverse a lion in 
the act of leaping upon a stag, which it is rending to pieces. The 
muscles are admirably portrayed, and the action is depicted entirely 
without stiffness, but with the ease and grace which arises from the 



20 NUMISMATICS. 

consciousness of power and strength. Greek culture alone could 
have produced such fine specimens of Art. Velia is now known as 
Castela mar della Brucca, and lies between Policastro and the Gulf 
of Salerno. It was mentioned by both Strabo and Pliny, and was 
the seat of the Eleatic sect of Philosophers, who received their ap- 
pellation from the city ; their leaders were Zenophanes, Parmenides, 
Zeno, and Melissus. The speculations of this school rose to a higher 
region of pure thought than those of the Ionic or Pythagoric schools,, 
and among the Eleatics for the first time comes distinctly into play 
the dialectical movement in human thought. 

Corinth, in Achaia, is represented by a fine didrachm, bearing 
on the obverse helmeted head of Venus ; and on the reverse, Pe- 
gasus, with the letter 9 (Koph), the ancient or Phoenician form of 
K. "A city," says Strabo, "large, rich and prosperous; replete 
with men fit for the handling of every sort of affair, civil, artistic,, 
and political." Founded by Bellerophon, the type of the reverse 
refers to his subjugation of the steed Pegasus. 

The coinage of this city exhibits a high degree of artistic culture, 
a thorough proof, were any wanting, of the truths which history 
records of its refinement and luxury. From the earliest days of 
its coinage, when the reverse was simply the rude punch mark, to 
the last periods when its money was issued, the pieces struck and 
engraved for this city are worthy of a high rank and possess a 
great merit. 

The very first coins issued by Corinth bear on the obverse Pe- 
gasus, with the archaic o (Koph), which disappeared from the later 
Greek alphabet. Reverse, the so-called key pattern punch mark. 
The execution of the flying horse is very bold. 

This city was colonized at a very early period by the Phoenicians,, 
and was destroyed by the Romans under L. Memmius, B. C. 146. 
The present piece was issued about 480 B. C. 

It is interesting to compare the coinage of this city with that of 
Sybaris, both of infamous renown for the pursuit of pleasure. 

There are also specimens of what is known as the incused coinage 
of Magna Grsecia. These pieces were issued by the Grecian colo- 
nies settled in lower Italy, and are probably the most remarkable 
specimens of the monetary art which have ever been produced. 
Instead of being thick and hemispherically raised toward the centre, 
they are thin and flat, and bear on the reverse in intaglio the same 
subject which the obverse bears in alto relievo. This coinage had 
been abandoned before the sixth century B. C. and all these coins 
are of very great antiquity, yet their workmanship is fine and artis- 
tic, even when the design is of the simplest. What the object for 
the adoption of so peculiar a form could have been, has been the 
subject of numerous conjectures, but as yet none seem satisfactorily 
to explain this abnormal condition of coinage. 

The specimens which the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society 
has placed on exhibition are Sybaris and Metapontum. 

The coinage of Metapontum bears on the obverse an ear of corn,. 



NUMISMATICS. 21 

on the reverse the same incused. This city was founded about 700 
B. C, by a colony from Northern Greece, and its prosperity 
became exceedingly great, owing to the fertility of its soil, which 
was especially rich in wheat. The Metapontines sent annually to 
the temple at Delphi a golden sheaf of wheat, and considered Ceres 
as their tutelary goddess, impressing her emblem, the ear of corn, 
upon their coinage. 

Sybaris presents, on the obverse, a bull standing and looking 
backward, and the same type incused on the reverse, with the in- 
scription ym, being written from right to left, in the most ancient 
manner and with the sz'gma of an archaic type, resembling a mu. 
The history of Sybaris and its successor city, Thurium, is well told 
b>y Dr. Cardwell. 

" The people of Sybaris, on the bay of Tarentum, were conquered 
and their city destroyed by the Crotoniats about the year 500 B. C. 
Fifty-eight years afterward the Sybarites endeavored to rebuild 
their city, but were again driven away six years later by their old 
enemy. The aid of Athens and the Peloponnese was invoked, 
which in 444 B. C. laid the foundations of Thurium, near the site 
of the ancient Sybaris, taking the name from a fountain in its 
neighborhood. Soon the foreign element prevailed over the Sybar- 
ites and put them to the sword. * * * What then is its numismatic 
history ? We have several coins of Sybaris, bearing in the form of 
their brief inscriptions and workmanship the strongest evidence of 
• high antiquity, so that we may fairly assign them to a period fully 
five centuries before the Christian era. The constant device on 
these coins was Bos stans et respiciens, showing that it was the ac- 
knowledged cognizance of Sybaris. The next coins belonging to 
the place are more recent, as we may judge from the form of their 
letters and their highly finished style of workmanship, and, taken 
on the analogy of coins in general, they might be assigned to a 
period not much anterior to the time of Philip and Alexander. 
But we find from these that the devices of the place have under- 
gone an important change. The ancient cognizance of Sybaris is 
now of secondary consequence, and has given way on one face of 
the coin to the Caput Palladis, the well-known badge of Athens. 
The inscription, too, is in one instance the abbreviated word 
Sybaris, in another a similar abbreviation of the newly contracted 
name, Thurium. So then, these coins strictly mark the period 
when the natives and foreigners were living together in compact, 
mutually endeavoring to conciliate each other, each party pre- 
serving tokens of its hereditary attachments. 

" The next set of coins is distinguished by a minuteness of orna- 
ment which marks them decidedly as the most recent of the three, 
and these coins, in perfect accordance with the historical narration, 
bear no memorials of the ancient Sybaris. The inscription in every 
instance is of Thurium, the Caput Palladis is prominent, and the 
ancient cognizance of the Bull is no longer stans et respiciens but 
irruens et cornupeta. Doubtless there was found in the meaning of 



22 NUMISMA TICS. 

the word dovplov, a reason for the difference they adopted ' a bull 
running and butting.' 

"The symbol of the bull 1 plays an important part in many 
mythoses. This animal was intended to represent power of body 
and unwearied masculine energy, two great attributes especially 
coveted by ancient kings and great men. The bull seemed to be, 
in a manner, sacred to Venus, whilst the lion was emblematic of the 
male creator. The bull and the lion, among the Assyrians, occu- 
pied much the same place as the lion and unicorn do in modern 
heraldry. Lajard (Cu/te de Venus) has summed up the matter in 
the following words : 

" Les deux principaux attributes characteristiques de Venus furent 
en orient comme en Occident le taureau et le lion, l'un symbole du 
principe de la chaleur et du pouvoir generateur actif, l'autre, sym- 
bole du principe humide et du pouvoir generatif passif ; et tous les 
deux signes du Zodiaque, mais avec cette difference que le taureau 
etait le premier signe de l'equinox vernol et la domicile de la lune a 
l'epoque de sa plus grande exaltation, et que le lion place au solstice 
d'ete etait le domicile du soleil pendant la canicule. Ces deux ani- 
maux furent done aussi les hieroglyphes ideographique de 1' her- 
maphroditisme de Venus, divinite a laquelle les anciennes traditions 
assignent, comme a Mithra, une place entre les equinoxes et les sol- 
stices et donnent pour monture le taureau." In another passage he 
writes thus : "Premier etre sorti des mains d'un dieu createur du 
monde, le taureau, symbole de vie, est appelee d'un nom qui signifie 
a la fois vie et taureau. Par une consequence immediate d'une doc- 
trine qui enseignait que les premiers etres vivants etaient ne dans 
l'eau, il est, en meme temps, le symbole de principe humide, du 
pouvoir passif de la generation ou du sexe feminine." (Inman's 
Ancient Faiths, Vol. i, p. 376, et sea.) 

Not a trace now remains of Sybaris, this great city which once 
ruled over twenty-five of its neighboring towns, and sent into the 
war that resulted in its downfall three hundred thousand fighting 
men. Nothing is known of its mansions and palaces; not one 
stone is left to show the spot where " men slept upon beds of roses 
and those renowned banquets took place to which women were 
bidden a year in advance that they might have the whole interval 
for rendering their beauty more irresistible." 

There is a fine Tetradrachm of the famous city of Tyre (in Phoe- 
nicia), bearing on the obverse a laureated head of Hearcles, on the 
reverse an eagle on rudder behind a palm branch, to left date HI 
(year 18), inscription, TYPOY IEPA2 KAI A2YA0Y- 

1 The types that occur on the coinage of the ancients are manifold. The bull, 
the emblem of strength and force, is often found joined to a human head, as on 
the coins of Gelas (Case 1) where it signifies human intellect and physical per- 
fection. The bull occurs also in combat with the lion, symbolizing the conflict of 
the fire element (or the sun), and that of water (*". <?., the bull) ; this type is often 
found upon the Persian coinage. The serpent, also, frequently represents the 



m 'M1SMA Tics. 23 

Tyre was one of the grandest cities of all antiquity, and its com- 
merce and riches are frequently spoken of in the classical writers. 
From Tyre, as from modern London, ships went to visit all parts 
of the globe to which they could reach ; and to Tyre came mer- 
chandise from all parts of the continents of Europe and Asia. 
According to Herodotus it was founded about 2755 B. C, and 
received its independence about 126 B. C. After a very long 
period of life, with checkered prosperity, Tyre was finally destroyed 
by the Saracens, after having undergone many sieges, including 
one by Alexander the Great. This coin was therefore issued about 
108 B. C. The execution of this coin is especially noteworthy. 
The massive boldness of the head of Melkarth (the Tyrian Her- 
cules) exhibits a brutal and repelling countenance ; the eagle (sacred 
to this god) on the reverse is in an attitude of life-likeness almost 
unsurpassable. The rudder exhibits the maritime character of the 
city, and the palm was the emblem of Tyre and Sidon. Phoenicia 
is fabled to have taken its name from this tree, which in Greek was 
known as $0INI2. The palm was likewise the well-known emblem 
of victory. As found upon coins it is, according to Spanheim, of 
three varieties, viz. : 

1st. That which is tall, thick-branched and leaved, but bears no 
fruit. 

2d. Smaller, less dense, and bears fruit. 
w 3d. The small sterile dwarf palm. 

The palm-tree of Judea, which bears fruit, is found upon the 
coinage of that country. As a branch, the palm is found upon the 
coins of Arabia; as a tree, upon those of Tyre, Damascus, Alex- 
andria, and the Phoenician Colonies of Sicily, Africa, and Spain. 

The palm-tree was one of the ornaments sculptured in Solomon's 
Temple, and among modern writers (e.g., Inmair 's Ancient Faiths) 
has been considered to be a Phallic emblem equivalent to Asshur. 
" On a coin of Ephesus a palm-tree is represented as springing up 
by the side of a stag cut asunder, meaning that the ' Great God 
(Kronos or Ilos) being cut off, the palm-tree repairs all.' "* 

There is also a number of fine copies of rare Grecian coins (Case 
1), and an especially noticeable selection of forged Roman first 
bronzes, executed by the celebrated Paduan forgers, Jean Cavino 
and Alessandro Bassiano, in the sixteenth century. The work of 
these artists has long been sought after on account of its exceeding 
great merits of design and execution, worthy to rank with the best 
workmen of antiquity. Many of these pieces are pure inventions of 
the forgers' brains, no originals ever having existed, while others 
are well engraved counterfeits. These were originally sold only as 
copies of antiques, but their makers were subsequently induced to 
dispose of them as genuine. 

The boldness of design and power displayed in the treatment of 
their subjects is of a very high degree of excellence. 

1 Inman, Vol. i, p. 196. 



24 • NUMISMA TICS. 

The coinage of the ancient Greeks was very rarely (if ever) of a 
circular form, owing to the imperfection of the process employed. 
They did not possess the knowledge of the collar, by which in mod- 
ern times accuracy in striking is insured, and the result was in 
many instances that the coin contains only a portion of the device 
or inscription, the rest having failed to reach the planchet, as there 
was no means of holding it firmly in place to receive the stroke of 
the hammer. 

The earliest Kings who placed their portraits upon coins, did so 
under the garb or disguise of gods and heroes ; thus Alexander the 
Great appears as Herakles and Jupiter Ammon; Lysimachus, as the 
Horned Bacchus, and other examples will readily be found. Their 
portraits professedly as that of human beings appeared on no coin 
.till after the death of Alexander the Great, and even then the 
change took place with great caution and circumspection. 

Sublimity is the leading characteristic of the coinage of the an- 
cient Greeks, and appears even upon the very earliest known speci- 
mens. 1 This arises from the simplicity of thought and object with 
which these coins were designed and executed, the cause of the 
calmness and the repose of the Grecian art. Even the most archaic 
types possess this property, although in the transition stage from 
the rude to the excellent. Neatness and stiffness constitute archa- 
ism in art, and the condition of the early Greek mind has been 
very justly compared by Humphreys to the quaint productions of 
the masters of the fifteenth century. 

Grecian art attained its highest perfection during the third period 
already alluded to, viz.: From the accession of Philip II of 
Macedon to the final subversion of the Roman liberty under Augus- 
tus Caesar. In the cities of Magna Grecia, it reached a most extra- 
ordinary degree of culture, -regardless of their not far distant neigh- 
bor, the robber city, founded by outlaws, and living by rapine, 
that city, whose ambition, still comprised within petty limits, had 
not yet broken its bounds to fly its conquering eagles above a pros- 
trate world. 

CASE 2. 

Rome now claims our attention. Its series is composed of gold, 
silver, and bronze. The oldest silver pieces, denarii, are of the 
value of ten asses (the letter X, which so often occurs upon 
them, is the exponent of their value), and bear the galeated head of 
Minerva on one side, on the other the Dioscuri ; sometimes on the 
reverse a biga or quadriga. Later the names of illustrious families 
appear on them, whence these have often been termed family coins, 
as, for example, the name of Cocles on those of the Horatian gens ; 
sometimes emblems of types commemorating heroic exploits or 
punning upon their own names, as upon the coins of Publicius Mal- 
leolus we find a hammer, of Valerius Asciculus, a pickaxe ; of 

1 Humphreys. 



NUMISMATICS. 25 

Aquilius Florus, a flower ; of Lucretius Trio, the seven stars (Sep- 
temtriones), etc. 

Upon certain of these coins we find deities appropriated, thus 
Juno Sospita on the families Cornuficia, Mettia, Pappia, Roscia ; 
Ceres on Claudia and Vibia ; Libertas crowned with laurel and 
veiled on Sestia ; crowned with olive branches on Licinia ; crowned 
with laurel on Junia ; veiled on ^Emilia and Calpurnia. Some- 
times Libertas appears as a female standing, holding in her hand a 
liberty cap, in her left the rudis or rod, whose touch manumitted 
slaves. Upon the early copper coinage of the United States we 
find the head of liberty accompanied by the cap and rod, being 
in allusion to this Roman custom. 

Among the family coins in the exhibition there is one of the 
gens Cornelia bearing on the obverse an archaic head of Minerva 
galeated and the inscription SULA ; one of the gens Hostilia, 
obverse a diademed head of Venus, reverse, a victory walking, hold- 
ing caduceus and palm branch, inscription Sasern L. Hostilius. 
Saserna was the cognomen of this noble family, which deduced its 
descent from King Tullus Hostilius. Some of their denarii bear 
the head of Pallor or Pavor, to whom that monarch vowed a temple 
upon the occasion of his battle with the Veientes. 

A denarius of Julius Caesar bears an elephant trampling upon 
a snake which is rearing its head ; reverse the simpulum, ad- 
spergillum, apex, and securis victimaria, emblems of his pontifi- 
cate. The elephant is said to refer to his victories over Juba, King 
of Numidia, and the subjugation of Africa, of which it was the sym- 
bol. Other authorities consider it as a speaking type, asserting that 
the word Caesar, in the Punic tongue, signified an elephant. One 
author has informed us that these sacred emblems (whose use and 
meaning is so well known to us) were nothing but the weapons 
with which the Romans were wont to fight against elephants in the 
time of battle. 

Upon a denarius of the gens Scribonia we find on the obverse a 
female head with the inscription Libo. bon. event.* reverse a puteal 
(or well-stone) in the form of an altar with the inscription Puteal 
above, Scribonia in the exergue. This is a very interesting coin 
referring to the puteal in the Comitium built on the spot where the 
events of the story of King Tarquin and the augur occurred, and 
where in later days the knife and the whetstone were found buried. 
Here were oaths taken as an especially sacred place. In 1812 an 
altar was found at Veii in every respect corresponding with this 
representation, and it is likely that the puteal Libonis served as a 
model for imitation in other places. 

In addition to those already described are a number of so- 
called family coins, among which are well-preserved specimens of 
the Cornelia, Fulvia, Hostilia, Maiania, Opeimia, Pomponia, Scri- 
bonia, Vibia, and other gentes, presenting interesting types. The 
gens Cornelia was a most noble family, both Patrician and Plebeian, 
and has left a number of devices upon the denarii which are attribu- 



26 NUMISMA TICS. 

ted to it. The gens Fulvia, although " confessedly one of the most 
conspicuous of the Roman gentes, is only known by one denarius, 
except some colonial ones figured by Morrell " (Smyth, Family 
Coins, p. 85). It bears on the obverse the head of Pallas Nike- 
phora with alated helmet and the word ROMA ; on the reverse 
"Victoria alata holds out a chaplet in a biga galloping to the right. 
Under the horse is CN FOUL, and in the exergum M GAL Q 
MET. Although we do not hear of the Fulvii till L. Fulvius be- 
came Consul in B. C. 322, it is known that even they were of long 
standing in Tusculum. * * * Of the ladies of this gens two 
played a very conspicuous part; the first, a woman of rank, di- 
vulged the Catalinian conspiracy ; the second married Mark Antony 
for her third husband, breathing nothing but war and domination. 
This is the fury who pierced the dead Cicero's tongue with a bod- 
kin, uttering all sorts of opprobious epithets all the while. (Smyth, 
loc cit.) 

A denarius of the gens Maiania presents on the obverse " a 
winged and galeated head of Roma with the mark X ; on the re- 
verse a winged Victory in a rapid viga holding the reins firmly with 
her left hand, while her right is whipping the horses, which are 
unusually free from harness. Below is the inscription C MAIANIA ; 
exergue Roma. History makes no mention of this gens, and its 
rank is unknown." (Smyth, p. 127.) ■ 

The gens Opeimia presents " the galeated head of Pallas, bearing 
stern and manly features, wearing an ear-ring with a long pendant 
and a necklace ; in front is the denarial stamp X, and at the back 
is a chaplet ; on the reverse, L. Opeimi ; exergue Roma. Victoria 
alata in a galloping quadriga holds the reins with her left hand and 
a laurel crown in her right. This was probably struck by L. Opei- 
mius, the aristocratic Praetor who suppressed the revolt of Tregellae, 
B. C. 125. This is the man who, being Consul four years later, 
hunted C.Gracchus with personal animosity to his destruction, and 
being himself condemned for receiving Jugurtha's bribes, died 
hated and insulted, a poverty-stricken exile at Dyrrachium. * * * 
The Opeimii are first brought on the stage of history at the time of 
the Samnite wars, yet the components of the gens are but little 
known." (Smyth, 157.) 

The denarii of the gens Pomponia occur frequently and are of 
many devices. Upon some are seen the figures of the Muses, Clio, 
Euterpe, Thalia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Erato, Polyhymnia, 
Urania, and Calliope, with the symbols respectively indicative of 
their supposed avocations. Upon one denarius is found the repre- 
sentation of Hercules Musagetae playing upon a lyre. "The tem- 
ple of Hercules Musarum was built in the Flaminian circus by the 
Consul Fulvius, who having, when Imperator in Greece, recognized 
Hercules as Musagetes, consecrated to his tutelar protection the 
nine statutes of the Muses, which he had brought over from Aeto- 
lia, B. C. 189. The Pomponia, though a plebeian gens, were very 
proud, and toward the end of the Republic, followed the example 



NUMISMA TICS. 27 

of the other Roman gentes by claiming high antiquity, pretending 
descent from Pompo, one of the sons ofNuma." (Smyth, p. 184, 
et seq.) 

The gens Vibia likewise affords many varieties of obverses and 
reverses. Among the former we find the laureated head of Apollo, 
the head of Pallas, an ivy-crowned head of Bacchus, a scenic mask 
of Pan, a laureated female head supposed to represent the Goddess 
Libertas, laureated head of Hercules, bearded head of Jove ; on the 
reverses are galeated figures in quadriga, Ceres crowned with wheat 
marching across a field, Jupiter Axuris, Roma seated on a pile of 
bucklers, holding in her right hand a spear, in her left the parazo- 
nium, pressing with her left foot on a globe and in the act of being 
crowned by a flying Victory, two clasped right hands sustaining a 
winged caduceus (relating to D. Brutus, who being besieged by 
Mark Antony at Mutina, B. C. 45, was liberated by the Consuls 
Hirtius and Pansa), a panther with his forefeet raised on a decora- 
ted cylindrical altar on which are the Bacchi attributes, a bearded 
mask and a long thyrsus adorned with ribbons, Victoria alata 
placing a garland upon a trophy composed of spoils, and Ceres 
crowned with corn, holding a lighted torch, seated in a car drawn 
by two dragons. These dragons are portentous creations of the 
ancient imagination in all countries. The serpent worship was all 
but universal. It is alluded to in the earlier portions of the Bible, 
and it is known to have prevailed among the Chaldees, the Persians, 
and the Egyptians as emblematic of the Sun and Time and Eter- 
nity. From the Orientals it descended to the Greeks, and from 
them to the Romans, among whom it became a type of Victory, 
Prosperity, and Health. (Smyth, p. 255, et seq!) Ceres in. her 
car, drawn by dragons, likewise occurs upon the coins of the gens 
Volteia. 

After the decline of Roman liberty the Emperors coined gold and 
silver, but the bronze remained the prerogative of the Senate. Upon 
the reverse of the imperial denarii occurred many interesting types, 
such as Pax, Providentia, Pietes, Fecunditas, ^Equitas, Concordia, 
Tranquillitas, Constantia, Pudicitia, Decursio, Adlocutio, Fides,. 
Spes, Victoria, Fortuna, and a multitude of others. Upon the de- 
cease of an Emperor, it was the custom to deify him, and to issue 
coins commemo,rating the event ; they usually bear on the reverse 
the word consecratio, and an eagle soaring to heaven, or a chariot 
drawn by four elephants, or a Phcenix, the head on the obverse 
being surrounded by rays. When it was a female who received 
this honor, as in the case of one of the imperial family, the reverse 
bore a peacock, or a chariot drawn by peacocks, or a carpentum 
drawn by mules. The servile adulation which had been their por- 
tion during life was not ended even in death. 

The very earliest of the Roman coinage was of copper (or bronze) r 
and was issued by Servius Tullius about the sixth century before 
Christ. The As was the primitive monetary unit of Rome, and 
although from time to time reduced in weight retained its legal 



28 NUMISMA TICS. 

value always unchanged. The coinage of silver, the denarius, 
quinarius, and the sestertius began about '269 B. C; gold was first 
minted about 206 B. C. 

A coin has preserved to us the monetary implements of the 
ancients ; a denarius of the gens Carisia bears on the reverse the 
pincers, hammer, anvil, and bonnet of Vulcan. 

When the first Triumvirs placed their own effigies upon the coins, 
they gave a great shock to the ancient habits and superstitions of 
the Roman people by displacing the old traditionary types of gods 
and goddesses. Pompey and Caesar were the first to set the ex- 
ample, which was followed by their relatives and their successors in 
authority, although by some authors it is held that the head of 
Pompey was not placed upon coins until after his death, and that 
it was then done by his sons. 

There is a handsomely executed Paduan fabrication of a first 
brass of the Emperor Otho, bearing his head on the obverse, 
and on the reverse the Emperor standing with his right hand ex- 
tended over an altar clasping the hands of three soldiers who bear 
military ensigns ; inscription, Securitas p. r. s. c. A Roman first 
brass of the Emperor Otho is something that has always been a 
desideratum; none are known to exist or to have ever existed. 
Bronzes from the Egyptian Mint are to be met with, and these 
alone must replace the Roman issue in collections unless the unex- 
pected, which is always occurring, should some day bring to light 
a hoard of these coins. The usual explanation given for the absence 
of the first bronzes of this Emperor is based upon the power re- 
tained by the Senate of striking copper, while their rulers had 
usurped the privilege of coining gold and silver. The denarii of 
Otho are not of infrequent occurrence, notwithstanding the ex- 
tremely short duration of his reign. 

Among the imperial Roman series are many fine and rare 
coins, starting from Julius Csesar and coming well down to the 
later days of the Byzantine Empire. They all bear the image of 
the Emperor on the obverse and the reverses in many instances, 
commemorate important events. Upon the coinage are found 
their wars and conquests and expeditions, imperial voyages to dis- 
tant portions of the empire, valuable historical facts and epochs. 
They are not so remarkable for the art displayed upon their coinage, 
and maintain their chief interest from their historical associations, 
while their claims to be regarded as exhibiting a graceful execution 
are very slight when we compare them with the masterpieces of the 
Grecian artists. The arts never flourished in Rome as they did in 
Greece ; they were never indigenous to the soil that bore a band of 
rugged heroes. 

The coinage of the Roman nation, from its earliest inception 
down to the capture of Constantinople by the Turks, presents to us 
a lengthy and uninterrupted chain for two thousand years, pre- 
serving to us the portraits of the monarchs, their wives and families, 
Telations and generals. 



NUMISMA TICS. 2 9 

CASE 3. 

Coins of the Sassanidae, the rulers of the Second Persian Em- 
pire, from about 226 A. D. to 651 A. D., are curious and inter- 
esting. They are thin, flat silver coins, bearing on the obverse a 
bust of the monarch wearing a peculiar head-dress, on the reverse 
a fire altar stands between two figures dressed in the old Persian 
garb (representing respectively the genii of good and evil), and an 
inscription in Arian characters is at the side. These coins are of 
uncouth and barbarous design and workmanship, and represent a 
period of decadence in art before the Mohammedan conquest had 
prohibited the representation of the human figure as idolatrous. 

The art of coinage, as carried into the East by Alexander the 
Great, remained in Bactria and India for many centuries, where 
money was long coined with inscriptions in the Greek languages, 
the coins of the Arsacidae in Armenia, and of the Sassanidae in 
Persia, bringing the mintage of Central Asia down to a compara- 
tively recent period. 

CASES 4, 5. 

We now come to the coinage of Great Britain, as being a good 
connecting link between the Roman and the modern eras of 
coinage. A very heavy and uncouth gold British coin of remote 
antiquity, perhaps of a period even before the days of Caesar, 
marks the beginning. Then in regular order come the rude coin- 
ages of the various early monarchs (too familiar to require de- 
scription here), pennies, groats, etc., etc., broad gold pieces of 
James I and the Commonwealth of England ; a very fine crown of 
Queen Elizabeth; gold " touch pieces," given by Kings Charles 
II and James II to those unfortunate beings whom, in conformity 
with the superstitions of the times, they " touched" to cure the 
King's evil ; gun money of James II, being coined from cannon 
melted up by that monarch and passed at a fictitious value ; a fine 
Gothic pattern crown of Queen Victoria, but never adopted for 
the national coinage ; coins of Philip and Mary, bearing both their 
heads. These were current until a comparatively recent date, and 
were thus referred to in Hudibras : 

«#**** fond and billing, 
Like Philip and Mary upon a shilling." 

There are also a number of coins of the English sovereigns 
struck for Scotland and Ireland, and various siege pieces of Charles 
I, who never, in all his extremities, resorted to the expedient of a 
debased coinage. 

Scotland is represented by coins of John Baliol and Alexander 
III, and a fine dollar, bearing the name of Queen Mary and 
her husband, the ill-fated Darnley. Upon the reverse of this coin 
is a yew-tree, popularly supposed to be the one which grew in the 
court-yard of Darnley' s residence at Cruikston, from which cir- 
cumstances this coin is known as the " Cruikston dollar. " 



30 NUMISMATICS. 

CASE 7. 

France is represented from Henry IV, including a number of 
silver ecus of various monarchs. On those of Louis XIV, we can 
trace the progress of his years, his coins exhibiting him in various 
stages from youth to old age. Louis XV is shown as a very hand- 
some young man. There are also coins of Louis XVI, Napoleon, 
Louis XVIII, Louis Philippe, Charles X, the Republic of 1848, 
Napoleon III, and the present Republic. 

A full line of Spanish and Portuguese coins carries us from 
the sixteenth century to the present time, among which is a 
silver dollar of Philip II of Spain, on which among his titles 
appears that of King of England. 

CASES 8, 9. 

Germany, rich in silver mines, exhibits a number of fine crowns 
of different emperors, dukes, bishops, etc., etc.; and a coin of 
Vladislaus of Poland, a noble kingdom, for centuries the bulwark 
of Christendom against the Turk, in the end despoiled and 
devoured by the very monarchies which its valor had preserved. 
These pieces range from 1586 to 1689. There are also many silver 
pieces of the various countries, comprising the Netherlands, such 
as Gueldres, Zeeland, Campen, etc., etc. 

Russia, among other specimens, exhibits its platinum coinage, 
which, after a short trial, was abandoned as an unsuccessful ex- 
periment, and which is very rare. , 

Scandinavia presents nothing remarkable, except the copper 
dalers, issued in the reign of Charles XII, when his insatiate 
thirst for glory had almost reduced his kingdom to beggary. To 
obtain the necessary revenues for carrying on his mad career he 
issued small copper pieces which were to be a legal tender for a 
dollar. The experiment failed, after working the usual amount of 
hardships, and its originator, Baron Goertz, paid with his life the 
penalty of its ill success. 

CASES 9, 13. 

The coinage of the Orient is largely represented, including 
a full set of the rare and curious "bullet money" from Siam, 
formed by bringing together the ends of oval pieces of silver, 
and on each piece is stamped a minute mark showing its value. 
Each "bullet " is perfectly symmetrical and its weight is very ac- 
curately and carefully proportioned to that of the other pieces. 
They are eight in number, and are named Pie, Sungpee, Fung, 
Salung, Song Salung, Tical (or Bat), Songbat, Sibat. 

There are some curiously stamped coins from Cochin China, long 
and narrow in shape. 

Japan presents a full set of gold, silver, and copper coinage, 
both ancient and modern, the liberal gift of Lieutenant Alan C. 
Paul, U. S. N., to the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of 
Philadelphia, upon his return from the Orient. 

There are coins of the great Orkhan, and a complete series of 



NUMISMATICS. 31 

thirty-three Ottoman monarchs, his successors, likewise specimens 
of the coinage of the Caliphs of Bagdad and of the Moorish rulers 
of Spain, very rare, but barbarous in art and uninteresting, save 
from historical association. 1 

There are also some of the "chopped" money current in 
China, where the custom exists of mercantile houses placing their 
" chop " (or guarantee firm name) upon all -the silver money that 
passes through their hands. The effect of this is very soon to 
render a coin utterly unrecognizable through the multiplicity of 
■"chops" that it had received. Chinese coinage is also curious 
and antique. 

CASE 14. 

In America we find an uncirculated cent of 1793, a beautiful 
head with flowing hair, an object far more tasteful than the 
later designs with which the authorities of the United States Mint 
have favored us. The very rare silver piece coined by Louis XIV, 
for circulation in the Franco-American colonies, known as the 
Gloriam regni, exists here in fine condition, as also the Rosa 
Americana half-penny, coined for circulation in British North 
America, in the reign of King George I; Georgius Triumpho, 
Immunis Columbia, Bar Cent, Nova Constellatio, Talbot Allum 
and Lee (of New York) cent 1794, the Higley copper, coined 
in Connecticut in 1737. Nova Caesarea, Vermont, Virginia, Nova 
Constellatio, Connecticut and Massachusetts coppers, Massachu- 
setts schilling and three-pence of 1652 (of which former coin it is 
narrated that the daughter of the mint master was given her weight 
as a dowry, she standing in one scale while the money was poured 
into the other), the sixpence issued in 1783 by I. Chalmers, a jew- 
eler, at Annapolis, a very fine Washington cent 1791, large eagle, 
a number of fine proof-sets and coins of the United States Mint, 
including the pattern dollar of 1836, the set of pattern cents of 
1858, the pattern cents of 1850, 1854, and 1855, the set of pattern 
half-dollars of 1868. 

Among the patterns is a gohid metric dollar, a composition the 
invention of William Wheeler Hubbell, Esq., which was proposed 
as being especially adapted for the coinage of the standard dollar. 
It contains gold, silver, and copper in fixed proportions, but pre- 
sents the feeling and appearance of a very light silver coin. Also, 
a Stella set, being the invention of the same gentleman. Of these 
patterns there were not more than twenty-five struck, and it is of 
the greatest rarity. 

There is the general and customary assortment of the coins us- 
ually incident to the American series, a series which contains very 
httle either of beauty or of interest, so that in the present instance, 
where our aim was mainly to exhibit Art, no attempt has been 
made toward a display of mere numismatic rarities. 

1 At present these are not on exhibition, owing to mechanical difficulties at- 
tending their display. 



32 NUMISMATICS. 

The object in hand is to show Art in its origin, growth, and pro- 
gress ; Art as a hand-maid for the illustration of mythology and the 
elucidation of history ; Art as an interpreter of the classics, where 
many obscure passages find upon coins their only true solution. 
Treatise after treatise has been written to show the advantage to be 
derived from the study of ancient coinages. Agostino, Goltz, 
Strada, Eckhel, Spanheim, and a myriad of others have contributed 
their stores of knowledge to the general fund. 

Coins throw light upon the history of nations, their forms of 
government, the political condition of their citizens; they indi- 
cate the classification of their inhabitants ; they . serve to fix the 
successions of monarchs, the events of their reigns, and the dates of 
eras. They have preserved to us the names of a multitude of civic 
magistrates and rulers, their offices and functions. They have pre- 
sented to us the images of sovereigns and great personages of 
history, the heroes of antiquity, poets, painters, philosophers, and 
sages, gods, goddesses, demigods, legislators, and women of fame. 
They have added largely to our geographical knowledge of the 
ancient world, exhibiting rivers and fountains, seas and mountains, 
rocks, and other characteristics of places. Cities have borne dif- 
ferent names at various times, and coins alone have authenticated 
their proper attribution. Coins bear frequently types which relate 
to the religions of the ancient world, both as representing persons, 
ideas, creeds, shrines, temples, altars, and places of worship, sacri- 
fices, utensils, and sacred objects. The holy stone to whose worship 
Elagabalus was consecrated, Diana of the Ephesians, and many 
similar devices exist on coins. 

Many customs and ornaments and forms of dress are also thus 
preserved to our times. 

Architecture has also been enriched by the edifices, bridges, 
arches, columns, monuments, and similar objects which historians 
have not fully described, as being too familiar a subject, or else have 
totally passed over, not being then in existence. 

When we consider the vast extent of the riches and possessions 
of so many of the potentates and states of antiquity, the enormous 
quantity of ancient coins which have survived to our times should 
not surprise us. The antique earth was a world of commerce, as 
is our modern globe of to-day ; for the requirements of a com- 
merce, which we know was an extensive one, large quantities of 
circulating medium were necessary, and the great mines of the 
archaic days furnished immense supplies of the precious metals. 
The Syracusans, the Athenians, Philip II of Macedon, Alexander 
the Great, the Ptolemies of Egypt, and lastly the Romans, all 
issued great quantities of coined money during long centuries; 
they were all wealthy and prosperous. In the Royal collection at 
Paris, probably the finest in the world, there are representative 
coins of sixty-five thousand different nations, cities and princes ; 
the whole number of coinage issued, it is supposed, would amount 
to about one hundred thousand. 



NUMISMA TICS. 33 

The interest which attaches to the earliest day-dawn of civiliza- 
tion upon this planet, to human life in its first development in the 
far distant past, is heightened by the perusal of these tokens which 
serve as a connecting link between those who live this day and 
have their being and those who lived three thousand years ago, 
who saw these works of art as they issued forth fresh from the 
coiner's hand; who ate, who drank, who slept, who died while 
these coins were still in their first infancy. Strange customs and 
curious ethnological facts, traits, and coincidences have been dis- 
played or developed upon coins, the records of the earth verified 
and brought to light. The world's epitome is here ; history, 
geography, philosophy, religion, all bear their part. 

We cannot more appropriately conclude this sketch than with 
the words of the brilliant writer, Gautier: 

Tout passe. IS art robuste 
Seul a Veterniti. 

Le buste 
Survit a la cite. 

Et la medaille austere j 
Que trouve un laboreur 

Sous terre, 
Revele un empereur. 

All passeth. Art robust 
Alone for aye doth bide. 
The bust 
Survives the city's pride. 

And oft the coin that's found 
By a rude laborer's plow, 

' Neath ground, 
Reveals an emperor's brow. 



NOTES ON THE COLLECTION OF CHINESE COINS BE- 
LONGING TO THE MUSEUM. 

By Stewart Culin. 

The history of China is illustrated upon its coinage. By means 
of it not only the rise and fall of successive emperors and dynasties 
may be traced, but the gradual development of a people from a 
condition of barbarism into a compact and enduring civilization. 

Barter preceded coinage in China as everywhere else, and various 
metals, cloths, precious stones, grains, and shells were used for that 
purpose. In time, implements of bronze, more convenient to pass 
from hand to hand, were preferred to other materials. Small spades, 
adzes, and knives, improper for the work their shape was intended, 
and later on flat rings of bronze multiplied and entered into the 
currency. 1 

These pieces, which passed current by weight, do not appear to 
have been turned into coinage by a regular stamp until the time of 
King Wang (544-519 B. C.) of the Cheu Dynasty, who issued in 
523 B. C. the bullion, then coinage, in various sizes and weights, 
regularly proportioned. 

Coins were not largely multiplied until'the third and fourth cen- 
turies before our era, during which the shapes of the implements 
and rings were retained, and the pieces usually bear rude inscrip- 
tions indicating the name of city of issue and their intended weight 
value. 2 Many of these irregular coins, the commonest forms 
of which are known as "knife" and "cloth coins," the latter 
from their resemblance to a dress or piece of cloth, are attributed by 
the Chinese themselves to an almost fabulous antiquity. 

The necessity for a more convenient currency at last caused the 
substitution of a uniform circular coinage ; the flat disc with a 
square hole in the middle became the national money of China, 
and has remained such until the present day. In the year 465 
A. D. the reigning title of the Emperor appeared upon the coins, 3 
and since this time there has been little change. They almost 
uniformly bear on the obverse the inscription t'ung fiabu, "cur- 
rent money," at present placed on the right and left of the hole, 
and on the other sides the title in use as the " national designa- 
tion " at the time of issue. The personal name of the Emperor is 
considered sacred and its use avoided, 4 consequently at the com- 

1 See Professor Terrien de La Couperie in the Numismatic Chronicle, third 
series, Vol. iii, p. 309. London, 1883. 

2 Ibid. 

3 Lieutenant F. E. Forbes, R. N. Five Years in China. London, 1847, p. 60. 

4 S. Wells Williams, LL. D. Syllabic Dictionary of the Chinese Language. 
Shanghai, 1874, p. 266. 

34 



NUMISMA TICS. 35 

mencement of each reign, a fanciful title, usually of a felicitous 
nature, is selected, which is inscribed upon the coins and used to 
designate the Emperor in the language of the people. Some Em- 
perors have changed this title many times, while others have 
reigned uninterruptedly under the one first adopted. 1 

The reverses of the coins are either blank or contain inscriptions 
referring to the place and circumstances of issue or numerals of value. 

Silver coins were struck during various reigns, but at present they 
are not found in circulation, the only coins issued by the govern- 
ment being the base pieces already described, which are known as 
" tsien," from a weight to which they were once made equivalent. 2 
The tsien, called "cash" by the English, and " sapeque " by the 
French, are strung for convenience upon withes of grass or split 
bamboo, one hundred upon a string. Coins bearing a nominal 
value of five and ten up to one hundred tsien, were frequently 
issued. 

The purchasing power of the tsien and their value in relation to 
silver has fluctuated greatly at different times. Nominally the tsien 
represents one-thousandth of a leang* or Chinese ounce of silver, 
but this value has not been maintained. "The market relation 
between cash and foreign dollars varies from twelve hundred to 
eighteen hundred cash to the dollar, the variance being influenced 
by the local supply and demand of particular coins at the treaty 
ports.*" 4 

These tsien are all cast in clay molds, and those now coined 
consist of seven parts of copper and three of lead, and should 
weigh i tsien, i fun ; but their composition and weight has varied 
greatly during different periods, iron having been used and alloys 
of copper, tin, zinc, and lead in different proportions. 5 

There are two great mints at Pekin, in the Board of Revenue 
and Board of.Works, whence the coin is circulated to various pro- 
vincial mints for imitation. Most of the provinces have a mint 
established at the provincial capital. 6 

When it is necessary to coin money the clay molds are con- 
structed some months in advance and are thoroughly dried. The 
obverse and reverse of the money to be cast is then cut in the 
molds, each mold containing twenty-seven coins, thirteen on 
each side and one at the top, the molds being broken after each 

1 H. F. W. Holt, R. N. The Numismatic Chronicle. London, 1866, new series, 
Vol. vi, p. 70. 

2 S. Wells Williams, LL. D. The Middle Kingdom. New York, 1883, Vol. 
ii, p. 83. 

3 According to a Chinese scale for weighing money in possession of the writer, 
the leang is equivalent to 580 grains Troy, and its decimals, the tsien, fun, and 
li, to 58. 5.8, and .58 grains respectively. 

4 Alexander Del Mar. Monograph on the History of Money in China. San 
Francisco, 188 1, p. 21. 

5 H. F. W. Holt, R. N. The Numismatic Chronicle. London, 1866, new 
series, Vol. vi, p. ?>2>. 

8 Ibid. 



36 NUMISMATICS. 

operation. The pieces are then strung on slips of bamboo, and 
the workmen then takes this in his hand and rolls the coins back- 
wards and forwards on a flat stone until the edges are smoothed 
round. 1 

The mode of coinage is identical with that in vogue for the last 
two thousand years, no advance having been made for centuries ; 
in fact, the present coinage is inferior to that of two hundred years 
ago. The issue of money is a government monopoly, but there is 
an enormous amount of spurious and debased money in circulation. 

The " knife' and "cloth" coins are no longer in circulation, 
and are seldom seen except in numismatic collections or treasured 
as charms. The Chinese are an extremely superstitious people and 
much given to wearing amulets to ward off evil influences or invite 
good fortune. In common with Western nations, their most popu- 
lar form of charm is a piece of money, and they believe the older 
the coin the greater its virtues. 2 Copies of the old currency are 
made for this purpose, and pieces resembling coins, inscribed with 
happy phrases, and symbols which are believed to be efficacious 
against evil influences, are in common use. 3 

The collection of Chinese coins in the Pennsylvania Museum 
and School of Industrial Art numbers eight hundred and seventeen 
specimens arranged upon thirty trays. 

Tray I contains twenty of the pieces cast for amulets. Several 
of them, Nos. 2, 3, 4, 6, bear on one side representations of the 
twelve animals used as horary characters; No. 13 has on the obverse 
t\\tfta-kwa or eight diagrams used in divination. Each is designed 
for some special purpose : No. 1 is hung upon the curtains of the 
bed, others are worn by children, and all of them are supposed to 
keep away the demons which the followers of Taou, one of the 
three great religious bodies in China, believe to be everywhere 
present. To the priests of Taou, who derive large sums of money 
from their sale, many, if not all, of these charms may be attributed. 

No. 6 bears on the reverse a representation of Chang Teen-sze, 
the principal of the Taou sect, who resides in the province of 
Kiang-si, and who, like the Grand Lama of Thibet, is supposed to 
be immortal. He is the ruler of the world of spirits, and appoints 
and removes the deities of various districts, just as the Emperor 
does his officers. 4 

Tray II contains a series of pieces known as "horse coins," 
from the design of a horse which appears upon them. Their era, 
and whether they are coins or amulets, is unknown to the writer. 

Tray III contains nineteen specimens of the "cloth coins," 
attributed by the Chinese to the earliest periods of their history. 



1 Holt (N. C. p. 89). 

2 N. B. Dennys. The Folk Lore of China. London, 1876, p. 55. 

3 Rev. Justus Doolittle. The Social Life of the Chinese. N. Y., 1867. Vol. 
ii, p. 145. 

* W. H. Medhurst. China; its State and Prospects. Boston, 1839, p. 167. 



NUMISMA TICS. 37 

To No. 15 they give a date of 2852 B. C, and assign the others 
to various periods down to the close of the Cheu Dynasty (255 
B. C). 

In Tray IV are two remarkable wedge-shaped pieces (1, 2) and 
four kniYe or sword coins (3-6) of extraordinary size, No. 5 meas- 
uring over seven inches in length. Nos. n-i4are specimens of 
the earliest circular coinage. 

In Tray V these early coins are continued in Nos. 1-6. Nos. 
7-13 are known as pwan leang, and with them commences our more 
accurate knowledge of Chinese coinage. 1 Nos. 7, 8, were issued 
by Che Hwang-te, first ruler of the short-lived Tsin Dynasty (255- 
206 B. C). The coins of the Han Dynasties, which lasted from 
206 B. C. to 264 A. D., succeed (Tray V, 14-25 ; Tray VI, 1-10). 
During these dynasties the cloth and knife pieces of the earlier 
age were revived, it is said, by King Wang, an usurper, who seized 
the throne (A. D. 9-25). Noticeable among them is the knife 
coin, No. 23, in Tray V, which has two characters above and 
below the hole inlaid with gold, arid is said to present the only 
instance of the use of this metal in Chinese currency. 

No. n, of Tray VI, was issued by the State of Woo, one of the 
celebrated " Three States" which succeeded the Han Dynasty, and 
Nos. 12 to 22 under the Sung, Ts'i, Liang, and Ch'an Dynasties, 
which rapidly followed each other between 420 and 589 A. D. 

Nos. 23-30, Tray VI, are the coins of the independent States of 
Wei and Chou. 

In Tray VII, Nos. 1-19, are found the coins of the T'ang Dy- 
nasty. 

Nos. 23-30 were issued during the disturbed period which pre- 
ceded the establishment of the Sungs. 

With No. 1, of Tray VIII, and continuing to No. 3, of Tray XVI, 
are found the coinage of the Sung and Southern Sung Dynasties. 
During their continuance, A. D. 960-1280, the empire is said to 
have reached its greatest prosperity, and the fine collection before 
us, embracing the coinage of sixteen of the eighteen Emperors, fit- 
tingly represents this illustrious period. 

The coins of the Yuen Dynasty established by the Mongols after 
their conquest of China under Kublai Khan follow in Tray XVII, 
Nos. 1-2 1. 

These pieces were issued by the third, fourth, and eleventh Em- 
perors, Kublai, the founder of the Dynasty, not being represented. 

Upon the overthrow of the Mongols the Chinese established the 
Ming or " Bright " Dynasty, A. D. 1368, the coins of which com- 
mence with No. 22 of Tray XVII, and continue to No. 21 of 
Tray XX. 

China was again conquered, this time by the Manchu Tartars, 
about the middle of the seventeenth century, and the present Ts'ing 
or "Peace" Dynasty established upon the throne of the Mings in 

1 Holt (N. C). 



38 NUMISMATICS. 

1644. Nos. 22-30 in Tray XX, and Nos. 1-7 in Tray XXI, were 
issued by Ming claimants to the throne after the Tartar conquest, 
and Nos. 8-30 by rebel leaders of the same period. 

The coinage of the present Dynasty deserves a more than passing 
notice in this hasty survey. 1 

T'ae tsoo, the founder of the now reigning Manchu line, issued 
No 1, Tray XXV, about the time of his installation as Prince of 
that nation in 161 6. It bears at the top and bottom the inscription, 
T'een Ming, "Heavenly Mandate," that being the national de- 
signation adopted for his reign, and, on the right and left sides, 
tung pabu, " current coin." Nos. 2, 3 bear the same legend writ- 
ten in the Manchu character. 

It was not until 1643 that She tsoo, the third of his line, ascended 
the throne of China, taking the name of Shun che, " Compliant 
Government." Nos. 3-30, Tray XXV, and Nos. 1-7, Tray XXVI, 
represent his reign. They bear on the obverse characters in Man- 
chu and Chinese, indicating the mints of issue. 

Shing-tsoo succeeded She tsoo in 1661, taking K'ang he, " Peace- 
ful Lustre" for his title. Nos. 8-30, Tray XXVI, and Nos. 1, 2, 
Tray XXVIII, were coined by him. 

She Ts'ung succeeded in 1722 under the name of Yung Ching, 
" Agreeable Rectitude." Tray XXVII, Nos. 3-12. 

In 1735 Kaou ts'ung ascended the throne, taking the name of 
Keen Lung, "Celestial Support." This Emperor, who reigned 
like his predecessor, She ts'ung, for sixty years, may be justly re- 
garded as the second greatest, if not the greatest, sovereign China 
ever produced. The coins of his reign, represented by Nos. 13-30, 
Tray XXVII, and 1-3, Tray XXVIII, are superior in design and 
execution to those of the other issues of this Dynasty. No. 2, Tray 

XXVII, was coined for the use of the Mohammedan tribes of Soun- 
garia, newly subjected by this Emperor, in 1759, and bears on the 
reverse Yerkiyang (Yarkand), in Manchu and Arabic. 

Jin tsung succeeded Keen Lung in 1796, taking the name of Km 
K'ing " Increasing Felicity," and issued the coins Nos. 4-24 in 
Tray XXVIII. 

Seuen tsung ascended the throne in 1820, on the death of K'ea 
K'ing, under the title Taou Kwang, " Lustre of Reason." Tray 

XXVIII, Nos. 25-30; Tray XXIX, Nos. 1-12. 

He w r as succeeded in 1850 by Heen fung, "Prevailing Abun- 
dance." Nos. 13-27, Tray XXIX, and Nos. 1-14, Tray XXX, were 
issued by him. The T'ae ping insurrection, which nearly over- 
threw the government during this reign, was a source of great 
financial embarrassment, and the pieces Nos. 1-14 in Tray XXX, 
having a nominal value much beyond their intrinsic worth, were 
coined to meet the emergency. No. 4 had a nominal value of one 
hundred tsien ; No. 3, fifty tsien ; Nos. 6, 7, twenty tsien, and 

1 Dr. A. Wylie. Journal of the Shanghai Literary and Scientific Society, No . 
I, June, 1858, p. 44. 



NUMISMA TICS. 39 

Nos. 8-13, ten tsien. They were taken very reluctantly by the 
people, and at present have nearly passed out of circulation. 

No. 32, Tray XXIX, was issued by the Triad rebels, who took 
possession of the city of Shanghai in 1853. 

Tung Che, the last of the Emperors represented, ascended the 
throne in i860. He issued the pieces Nos. 28-30, Tray XXIX, and 
Nos. 15, 16, Tray XXX, the last two being of the denomination of 
ten cash. 

The form and character of the Chinese coinage were adopted by 
many of the neighboring countries at an early period. In A. D. 
675 Japan issued a copper coinage, probably cash, similar to the 
Chinese, 1 and has retained this form of currency to the present day. 
Nos. 1-6, Tray XX, are Corean, Nos. 7-10 Japanese, Nos. 11-19 
Loo Choo, and commencing with No. 21, Tray XXIII, are to be 
found the coinage of Cochin China from the early part of the 
fifteenth century. 

The ease with which the cash may be cast has led to the issue not 
only of an enormous volume of counterfeits, but of irregular pieces, 
usually weighing less than the legal standard and bearing inscrip- 
tions not found upon the legitimate issues. A collection of these 
pieces, coined by private individuals, is embraced by Nos. 22-30, 
Tray XXIII, and Nos. 1-36, Tray XXIV. 

In concluding these brief, imperfect notes, a word might be said 
upon the value of these memorials, the earliest authentic records of 
a nation whose history extends back almost to the dawn of civiliza- 
tion. 

We find upon them names of Emperors and Kings who ruled a 
people skilled in the arts and sciences while the Western World 
had scarcely emerged from a condition of barbarism. 

We discover in the rude knives which served as a medium of ex- 
change among the primitive people the origin of a monetary system 
which has lasted until the present day. 

We may trace in the varying weights and composition of these 
coins indications of the periods of famine and internal commotion, 
when the government sought to relieve its needs by debasing its 
coinage, and again of wealth and prosperity in superior weight and 
excellence of workmanship. Confirming record' and tradition, they 
furnish clues to the development and civilization of a mighty na- 
tion, revealing data valuable both to the historian and the student 
of mankind. 

1 From information kindly furnished the writer by Mr. Naito Ruijiro, Secretary 
of the Japanese Legation, Washington. 



40 



NUMISMA TICS. 



CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF CHINESE DYNASTIES. 1 



Began. 



I. 

2. 

3- 
4- 

5- 

6. 

7- 
8. 

9- 
io. 
ii. 

12. 

!3« 

14. 

15- 
16. 

i7- 
18. 
19. 
20. 
21. 
22. 

2 3- 

24. 

25- 



Hia B. C 

Shang 

Cheu 

Ts'in 

Han 

Tung Han A. D. 

Heu Han 

Tsin 

Tung Tsin 

Sung 

TVi 

Liang 

Ch'an 

Sui 

T'ang 

Heu Liang 

Heu T'ang 

Heu Tsin 

Heu Han 

Heu Cheu 

Sung 

Southern Sung. 

Yuen 

Ming 

Ts'ing , 



2205 
1766 
1122 

2 55 
206 

2 5 
221 

265 

3 2 3 

420 

479 
5° 2 
557 
589 
620 
907 

9 2 3 

936 

947 

95 1 

960 

1127 

1280 

1368 

1644 



A. D 



Ended. 

1766 
1122 

255 
206 

' 2 5 
221 
264 
322 
419 
478 
502 
556 

589 
619 

907 

923 

93 6 

946 

95 1 
960 
1127 
1280 
1368 
1644 



Number of 
Sovereigns. 

17 
28 

34 

2 

14 
12 
12 

4 
11 

8 

5 
4 
5 
3 
20 
2 

4 
2 
2 
3 
9 
9 
9 
16 



to 1885. 



1 S. Wells Williams, LL.D. 
Shanghai, 1874, p. ^. 



A Syllabic Dictionary of the Chinese Language. 



